As the international political climate grows increasingly volatile, peacekeeping operations have become a mainstay in troubled regions. The alternative to military occupation is either to train indigenous police forces or to hire security corporations. Policy makers are worried that these forces are not capable of maintaining peace. In addition, moral and legal issues are factors for policy makers that are debating the extent to which peacekeeping forces should be allowed to infiltrate societies in turmoil. Other issues of concern that this book examines are the United States relationship with the U.N. and the World Bank as all three pursue their different responsibilities in peacekeeping.

One of the most crucial and difficult tasks in peacekeeping and related stability operations is creating a secure and stable environment, both for the foreign peacekeepers and for the indigenous population. During the past decade, the United States and the international community have tried various approaches to providing that security. Most of these approaches have included the use of United Nations International Civilian Police (UNCIVPOL), whose forces are contributed on a case by case basis by UN member states. (While other countries usually contribute police personnel from their own national forces, the United States contracts those it contributes through a private corporation). In a few cases, such as Afghanistan and Iraq at this time, coalition and US military forces, and not the United Nation, train and work with indigenous police forces to provide security. This book presents an up-to-date evaluation of current issues in peacekeeping.

This book compares police reform operations in Kosovo and Afghanistan, addressing the internal machinery that makes peace operations work—or not. Recognizing that the chances for effective peacebuilding vary widely across contexts, this book investigates the impact of one of the few variables that peacebuilders do control: the management and design of peace operations. Building on field research and over one hundred expert interviews, International assistance to police reform: Managing Peacebuilding systematically compares such operations in two different contexts—Kosovo and Afghanistan—by focusing specifically on international assistance for local police reform since 1999. Four comprehensive case studies examine operations in Kosovo and Afghanistan before and after the European Union took over police reform responsibilities: in Kosovo from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and in Afghanistan from the German government. Speaking to scholars and practitioners in domestic and international organizations, the book drills in the complex relation between headquarter diplomats and field level conflict experts. Its findings combine to a set of recommendations for policy-makers to better align their operations to the contentious politics of conflict management and peacebuilding.

This book contains bibliographic references with abstracts and subject headings to public and social policy literature and to world politics published in print and electronic formats; international focus.

The emergence of a common security and foreign policy has been one of the most contentious issues accompanying the integration of the European Union. In this book, Michael Smith examines the specific ways foreign policy cooperation has been institutionalized in the EU, the way institutional development affects cooperative outcomes in foreign policy, and how those outcomes lead to new institutional reforms. Smith explains the evolution and performance of the institutional procedures of the EU using a unique analytical framework, supported by extensive empirical evidence drawn from interviews, case studies, official documents and secondary sources. His perceptive and well-informed analysis covers the entire history of EU foreign policy cooperation, from its origins in the late 1960s up to the start of the 2003 constitutional convention. Demonstrating the importance and extent of EU foreign/security policy, the book will be of interest to scholars, researchers and policy-makers.